Ecotricity Sustainable Food Fortnight
During the first two weeks of September, The
Vegan Society supported Ecotricity’s ‘Sustainable
Food Fortnight’. Ecotricity founder Dale Vince,
has been a committed vegan for over 20 years
and has a passion for sustainability in all areas,
including food, energy, and transport.
With four offices in Stroud, the Ecotricity
management team felt it was a great opportunity
to engage 500 staff members with sustainability
issues, asking them to consider the origins and
impact of food we consume.
The Vegan Society supported the initiative by
getting several registered trademark brands to
donate samples to Ecotricity, showing that being
vegan is fun.
We also prepared an email a day for staff
members, containing a seasonal recipe for the
team to try during their lunch break or at home
with their families. We were pleased to hear that
Ecotricity staff were taking it in turns to cook
vegan lunches and were really enjoying
the recipes.
Here’s what Bruce Cockrean, Head of
Sustainability at Ecotricity, had to say:
“The Vegan Society has been absolutely great
in helping us with our Sustainable Food Fortnight.
The purpose of the initiative was to let Ecotricity
staff know about the issues around animal
welfare, diet, food waste, poverty and food miles,
and how these issues relate to climate change.
The Vegan Society provided us with some great
display material for our reception area and also
provided a daily vegan recipe to encourage staff
to take the vegan challenge. The Vegan Society
went the extra mile and kindly requested some
of their international vegan trademark registered
companies to provide wonderful samples for our
staff to use. Thanks to Amy’s Kitchen, Ten Acre
Crisps, Moo Free Chocolates, Koko Dairy Free and
Creative Nature Super Foods. We loved them all
and they disappeared like hotcakes.”
Bruce has since told us that a number of staff
have taken our Vegan Pledge, and some have
committed to changing their lifestyle and have
gone vegan. Roll on next year’s fortnight!

Harvest at Eden Project
Friday the 19th of September was a momentous
occasion for The Vegan Society, as it marked
our first official presence at The Eden Project in
Cornwall. Their annual Harvest Festival is one of
the best festivals in the area. Nishma Shah from
Shambhu's Vegan Catering did us proud with
a highly entertaining and informative cookery
demonstration. Everyone sampled and enjoyed
spicy vegetable masala burgers and vermicelli in
coconut milk. For some, this will have been their
first taste of vegan cuisine.
The demonstration attracted dozens of people
who were inspired to visit The Vegan Society stall
to find out more about plant-based recipes, the
Vegan Pledge, and to sign up as members. We
received a great deal of support from everyone
at the Eden Project, and in return, we inspired
staff and visitors to introduce more vegan food in
their lives.
Winter 2014 | The Vegan 7